false http://photo.goodreads.com/books/1171994898m/130748.jpg 130748 3 Like most other human artifacts, the common pencil, made and sold today by the millions, has a long and complex history. Henry Petroski, who combines a talent for fine writing with a deep knowledge of engineering and technological history, examines the story of the pencil, considering it not only as a thing in itself, but also as an exemplar of all things that are designed and manufactured.<p> Petroski ranges widely in time, discussing the writing technologies of antiquity. But his story really begins in the early modern period, when, in 1565, a Swiss naturalist first described the properties of the mineral that became known as graphite. Petroski traces the evolution of the pencil through the Industrial Revolution, when machine manufacture replaced earlier handwork. Along the way, he looks at some of pencil making's great innovators--including Henry David Thoreau, the famed writer, who worked in his father's pencil factory, inventing techniques for grinding graphite and experimenting with blends of lead, clay, and other ingredients to yield pencils of varying hardness and darkness. Petroski closes with a look at how pencils are made today--a still-imperfect technology that may yet evolve with new advances in materials and design. <I>--Gregory McNamee</I> 1636109 1990 The Pencil: A History of Design and Circumstance total:73|5:15|4:22|3:24|2:11|1:1| 73 258 168 12 5 1 false false Fri Nov 14 07:15:39 -0800 2008 Wed Dec 03 17:44:29 -0800 2008
The pencil represents innovation, ingenuity and inventiveness.
The problems...more...]]> 2 0 false false Sat Apr 18 00:00:00 -0700 2009 Fri Feb 27 16:42:12 -0800 2009 Fri Apr 24 10:54:09 -0700 2009 1 more...]]> 2 0 false false Sun Jul 26 00:00:00 -0700 2009 Sat Mar 14 10:45:00 -0700 2009 Sun Jul 26 18:26:05 -0700 2009 more...]]> 5 0 false false Sat Jun 20 11:31:54 -0700 2009 Sat Jun 20 12:20:08 -0700 2009 0 0 false false Sun Nov 22 14:45:31 -0800 2009 Fri Oct 02 16:07:51 -0700 2009 Sun Nov 22 14:45:31 -0800 2009
When he *is* getting on wit...more...]]> 2 0 false false Sun Jan 11 08:34:04 -0800 2009 Sun Nov 15 18:45:53 -0800 2009
I really wanted to prove that I could read non-fiction, and enjoy it. Disappoi...more...]]> 2 0 true false Tue Jan 01 00:00:00 -0800 2008 Sun Jul 05 11:28:09 -0700 2009 Sun Jul 05 11:29:26 -0700 2009 1 2 0 false false Tue Jan 01 00:00:00 -0800 1991 Tue Apr 01 04:57:10 -0700 2008 Tue Apr 01 07:41:34 -0700 2008 3 0 false false Sat Mar 15 00:00:00 -0700 2008 Tue Mar 18 14:35:58 -0700 2008 Tue Mar 18 14:41:32 -0700 2008 0 0 false false Wed Mar 21 07:28:40 -0700 2007 Wed Mar 21 07:28:40 -0700 2007 4 0 false false Wed Jun 25 22:27:26 -0700 2008 Wed Jun 25 22:28:56 -0700 2008 5 0 false false Sun Jul 13 20:29:35 -0700 2008 Sun Jul 13 20:29:46 -0700 2008 3 0 false false Sun Nov 22 17:35:50 -0800 2009 Sun Nov 22 17:35:50 -0800 2009 0 0 false false Sat Nov 14 21:46:04 -0800 2009 Sat Nov 14 21:46:04 -0800 2009 0 0 false false Fri Nov 13 13:11:39 -0800 2009 Fri Nov 13 13:11:45 -0800 2009 4 0 false false Wed Jan 14 00:00:00 -0800 2009 Tue Oct 27 01:52:31 -0700 2009 Tue Oct 27 01:54:10 -0700 2009 0 0 false false Sun Oct 18 10:02:38 -0700 2009 Sun Oct 18 10:02:38 -0700 2009 4 0 false false Wed Oct 14 18:07:34 -0700 2009 Wed Oct 14 18:11:09 -0700 2009 0 0 false false Tue Oct 13 11:17:51 -0700 2009 Tue Oct 13 11:17:51 -0700 2009 0 0 false false Sat Oct 10 22:56:05 -0700 2009 Sat Oct 10 22:56:05 -0700 2009 http://www.goodreads.com/book_link/follow/8?book_id=130748